Canada 3

I'm sorry guys - but, girls, you've got to love a man in a uniform.  Especially if it's got a bright red jacket with gold buttons and gold braid.  OMG!  To die for!!

Well, okay, maybe not this guy. 

We visited the RCMP academy in Regina today and it was a very interesting museum.  It traced the history of the Mounties which really started out as the North West Mounted Police in 1873.  This academy is where EVERY wannabe goes to become a Mountie.  This November the Depot Division will celebrate it's 125 year anniversary .  It is the oldest RCMP establishment that has not moved or relocated or restarted.  In one of the theaters it showcased how the Klondike gold rush really established the Mountie as we know it today.  Previously it was a police force that used police force action to keep the peace.  During the gold rush the Mounties changed their tactics to become more of a peace-keeping force using peaceful methods instead of force.  During the summer they have guided tours of the actual academy (which is HUGE), but because there are cadets there now the academy is closed to visitors.  One interesting fact, that I didn't know, was that the "mounted" part of the RCMP was ended in 1966.  Now the horses are only used for the musical ride and special events.  If you are interested in getting more information about RCMP you can go to their web site www.rcmpheritagecentre.com.

Tomorrow is a travel day to Brandon, Manitoba.  Oh, for those who are curious about the weather we've had - it's been very cold at night (as low as high 30's), but average in the day (low 60's).  We had rain for the first two days, but nothing since then.  The province of Saskatchewan has had torrential rains for most of the summer so they are very waterlogged - rivers and streams have flooded and there is still standing water all around.

Canada 2

What do you think of these?  Medicine Hat, Moose Jaw, Swift Current, Bucking Horse, Horsefly, Salmon Arm (fish have arms?) Flin Flon, Cow Head.  These are names of towns/cities in Canada!  Canadians sure do have a sense of humor.

Today we ended up in Regina (pronounced ridge-EYE-nah) and will be here for the next two nights.  On our way here we stopped at Moose Jaw because someone told us that we needed to see the Tunnels of Moose Jaw.  That sounded intriguing so off we go.  Do you know how stressful it is to take a 38' motorhome down the main street of town and try to find a parking lot big enough for us to stop in?  Well, it's VERY stressful.  Good thing Karl does the driving there and not me.  I would probably wipe out a few cars.

The Tunnels of Moose Jaw are two guided tours that take you underground and under the main street of Moose Jaw.  The first tunnel we went in is where Al Capone used to go when he came up to Saskatchewan to get away from the heat (cops) in Chicago.  It is a labyrinth of twists and turns that will get you real lost if you don't know where you are going.  The tunnels were also used to make and hide bootlegged liquor from the government of Canada.  Capone would make it in Moose Jaw and transport it back to the US because he couldn't make any profit selling it in Canada during Prohibition because the Canadian government was making and selling their own!

The next tunnel told of the Chinese immigrants that came to Canada and helped build the railroad.  But after the railroad was done they were out of jobs and out of money.  The tunnels were actually built by the railroad to connect steam pipes to heat rooms.  An Englishman employed immigrants for his laundry to rich white people.  He abused them, took their earned money by making them pay for everything they needed to live and made them live in the laundry.  They were kept in the tunnels so that the rich public couldn't see them.  The persecution of the Chinese continued until the late 1960's!  But working in laundry in the tunnels was preferred over living "up top" with the terrible discrimination they faced by the public and their hatred of the Chinese people. 

All in all it was a very interesting 2 hour time of visiting Moose Jaw.  Tomorrow the Royal Canadian Mounted Police museum.

Canada 1

And so we begin our Canadian journey.

Our first stop is:

Al's I-5 RV Sales and Service in Bellingham, WA!!!!!!!!

Regular followers of this blog will notice a trend everything we start out on a new journey.  For those of you who aren't regulars, just read back a few trips and you will see that every time we start out on a new journey we seem to either have problems that cause us to delay our start or something goes wrong with the coach that causes us to visit an RV shop.  This time it was a problem with our connection between the car lights and the coach.  It seems that a fuse was blown (not naming names!) for the car lights and Karl couldn't find where it was located.  So in the AM off to the RV service go.  Within 3 hours we were finally on the road.

For those of you who would like to follow us through our trip I would suggest that you may want to bookmark this page or even put it in your favorites because I am going to try and do a daily blog since we are trying to sightsee at each place we go.

So here we go!!!!!

We left on Sept. 7 and drove to Revelstoke in British Columbia for the night.  Didn't do anything since we've been into BC most of the summers we are up at the farm (which as of this post is SOLD)!

On the 8th we drove up to Calgary in Alberta and was going to stay there for two nights because there were some things we didn't get to see while we were up here last year during a Blue Knight convention.

Our first stop was Calgary Olympic Park.  It was at this sight that, during the 1988 Olympics, was the host area for ski jumping, freestyle skiing, bobsled and luge events were held.  Now it is used as a practice sight both during summer and winter.  The largest tower is 90 feet tall and is now used as a zip line tower in summer.  They don't use it for ski jumping because, remember, it's been 22 years since ski jumping there and the sport has so evolved that the end jump area is too small and it would cost tons of money to extend it.  The Ice House was closed for renovations while we were there because they are building a huge 4 arena complex for hockey.  But that is used for training on starts in luge and bobsled that is always covered inside in ice.  During the summer months you can try the bobsled/luge track, mountain bike park and the above mentioned zip line.

We next went to the Calgary tower for lunch and a great view.  It rises 626 feet above the city and has a revolving restaurant that has great food and even greater views.  The full rotation can be programmed to be either 45 minutes or an hour to complete.  Above the restaurant is an observation deck what gives a great view also.  But for those who know me and my fear of heights it was a rather scary sight, so the picture that I took of my feet above the city was a traumatic picture for me to take.  I am just very uncomfortable standing on something I can see through 626 feet above Mother Earth!  On top of the tower is a torch that was continually aflame during the Olympics, but now is only lit during special events.

Our last stop for the day was The Military Museums.  According to Karl is was a very well done museum that dealt with all things military in Canada.  You could take a long time in there, but we did a little rush because we didn't have much time.  They separated the different branches of the military and how it developed during time and wars.  For someone interested in military campaigns, weapons and strategy it would be well worth the visit.

Today we drove a short distance to Medicine Hat in Alberta and visited the historic Clay Industries district.  Because of the abundant amounts of clay soil and natural gas a clay factory was started in 1912 to create pottery and bricks for the area and exports.  They are in the process of trying to recreate the factory, but time and definitely money are in short supply right now.  For collectors the name Medalta pottery may ring a bell.  Unfortunately it didn't me.  But they created a lot of crocks and progressed into dishes for the Canadian Railroad in later years.  By the 1960's the factory was closed and didn't receive any help for preservation until the 1990's.  It is now owned by the city and they are starting to redo the factory.  They even have resident artists that stay there a year to do their art and will sell it out of the gift shop. 

Our final stop was at the Saamis teepee - the world's largest teepee.  It stands 20 stories high and inside each storyboard is 12 feet high.  The storyboards are done by First Nation artists that depict Indian history.  It was used during the Calgary Olympics then moved to Medicine Hat where it stands on  the Saamis archaeological site - the location of a 16th century buffalo camp.

Tomorrow we drive to Regina, Saskatchewan and plan on visiting the RCMP museum on Sunday.

Stay tuned!

When is a ditch a stream?

The end of the road is at hand.  Tomorrow we will be done with the farm clean up and ready to hand it over to the "new" owner.  But in answer to the above question: it depends on who you ask.  Here is what we've had to put up with since we've been back from our motorcycle trip.

Let me start from the very beginning.  On the farm's property there is a ditch that was hand dug in 1906 as a runoff for the farms uphill from us.  Over the years the ditch (which has water in it only 3 months a year) started to erode the bank so that it was undermining the tree next to the house.  In July the county decided to put in a new culvert to "help" the flow and make the "ditch" fish friendly.  Fish?  What fish?  Anyway, they installed this HUGE culvert, so large that a six-foot person could walk through it without bending over, and thought they (the county) were great.  Fast forward to September, right before we left, and the Ditch District wanted to improve the ditch to make the flow better and make the ditch look better.  For the last 50 years Karl's aunt and uncle never allowed the district to come on their property.  After talking to the district Karl and his aunt decided that what they were proposing looked and sounded good.  But to go around the permit process, which would have taken 3 YEARS, they waited until we left the property so that we weren't there and wouldn't get involved.  Karl came back in December and saw what a great job they did and was happy with the result.

Now fast forward to 2010.  His aunt has agreed to put the farm up for sale.  It was on the market for 2 weeks and we had a perspective buyer.  We think everything is going great and suddenly a wrench is thrown into the works.  Now remember, this ditch has been here for over 100 years and nothing was ever done or said about it.  Suddenly SOMEONE notices that the ditch has been greatly improved, but not according to the county, Army Corps of Engineers, Conversation Corp or Washington Fish and Game's specification.  All of a sudden everyone was involved!  Their contention is that the rock that is lining the ditch's banks isn't "fish" friendly and would endanger new species.  Again - fish?  What fish?  "Supposedly" Fish and Game found "evidence" of fish and now the ditch has become a stream!    Now, on top of everything else the buyer's real estate agent is giving them all sorts of wrong advice.  She is finally FIRED!  Can you imagine how bad you must be if you get fired from real estate?  Now Karl is becoming very angry about the whole thing and is ready to tell all agencies involved to take the "offending" rocks  out then "get the hell off my land"!  I had to stay in the motorhome while he was having the meeting with all the agencies because I would have gotten myself in a whole lot of trouble with my mouth.  Finally we went to the county ourselves and got the true answers from all involved then went back and let our real estate agent know so that he could give the information to the buyer.  Then, in an unheard of move, our agent suggested that Karl talk to the buyer directly so that he could give the answers he got and who he talked to at the county.  BTW - even the county people think this Fish and Game District is going way overboard in calling certain things as a stream.  In the meantime an agent from the Conservation agency brought out their own engineer to test the rocks on the banks and even they said that it was done very well and would hold up.  Plus it would cause more damage removing them.

As of today Fish and Game, Conversation Agency, Whatcom County and ACorE are all in agreement that if the rocks are removed and they are allowed to plant native foliage along the bank they will approve the sale.  FINALLY!!!!!

Tomorrow will be the last run of things out of the house and then everything will be done.  After three years we will be free of the farm, Aunt Myrne is happily settled in her assisted living and this mess called Whatcom County in Washington State run by flaming liberals will be out of our hands forever!

LET'S PARTY!!!!!!

So the answer to the question is:  if Fish and Game gets involved, no matter what it looks like, if it has "evidence" of fish it becomes a stream, whether there is running water or not.

Reflections

Flight miles = 5800, motorcycle miles = 3700, car miles = 800, number of states visited = 12, number of days this all took place = 37.

That has been our travels.  So far.  What I didn't include were the number of hours of sleep which weren't enough.  It has been a very busy month with traveling to get from one place to another due to commitments.  I also didn't include the number of days we spent in our own houses which were probably less than 10.  At this point I really don't care to see another hotel room for a very long time.

What I have discovered on this journey has to do with the terrain and foliage and how long I have been away from or exposed to it.  I grew up in Upstate New York which to many doesn't mean a whole lot.  Most people hear the words New York and they think of the city.  Upstate is where you find farmlands, dairy cows and a very laid back way of life.  And lots of trees, i.e. greenery everywhere.  I lived there for 18 years and didn't know any other kind of landscape.  Then I moved to Southern California.  Not as lush, not as green.  I really missed my green stuff for a long time.  When I would fly back home I would notice that even the air smelled different (and I don't mean smog).  It has a very different smell because of all the types of trees and the odor they give off.  It's a very musky, but great smell.  But I learned to like California and it's differences.  

After a few years we moved up to Northern California (Bay area) and there was a new terrain to learn to be happy with.  Did I miss the New York green?  Sure - especially during the summer when California becomes brown and dry.  Then a few years later we moved up farther north and ended up in the foothills of Sacramento.  Again a different terrain.  It's amazing how different California is as you move up the state.  Anyways, I thought I had found the closest thing to home when we built a house in the foothills area - farm house, land, and some trees.  But as fate would have it we were doing more and more things down in the valley so we waited until Brian was in his senior year then with his approval we moved down to the valley to be closer to our church and friends.  We let him make the final decision because he would have to commute the final year of school.

After Walt passed away and I began a new relationship with Karl we started looking for a house that would accommodate the motorhome.  As it was it had to be stored about 25 miles away and that was a pain when you had to get ready for a trip.  So the search began and we ended up buying in Albuquerque.

At the beginning of this month I flew back to my mom's who still lives at home where I grew up.  My sister, her daughter and granddaughter were also there.  We wold often take drives around the area to see how is has changed - not much, believe me.  When my mom asked if we saw any difference the only thing my sister said was that everything was overgrown.  I never noticed, but she was right.  Except that now, in my mind, the whole "green thing" that I used to love was overgrown.  I was missing the brown, open spaces of the west.  On our motorcycle trip that included all of the western states I loved seeing the desert and the open skies.  And I really missed that while I was in New York.

Now we are back in Washington state and I am back to the "green thing" again.  I guess my tastes have changed since I was a child.  Now I hear Brian wishing to find a place like where he grew up.  It's me I'm hearing all over again.  I have a wandering spirit - my mom will be the first to tell you that - but I always want to come home to the desert that I have grown to love in New Mexico. 

Convention #2 - DONE!

Convention #2 is done and out the door.  We finished in Grand Junction Tues. night with our banquet where the Southwest conference held a drawing from the early registrants for free room at their 2011 convention in Prescott, AZ.  Guess who won?  We did!  What a surprise.  At the banquet Karl was the MC and he was kidding about wanting his name to be pulled.  The Police Chief's wife drew the paper and said the name - we had her repeat it and then the SW chairman verified it.  What a hoot!  Also a very special drawing was done for a quilt, but I don't want to spoil the surprise on who won that.  For the CA-1 readers ask at the next monthly breakfast.

We left Grand Junction on Wed. morning with ourselves and 4 other friends from CA-1 and drove to our house in NM.  I will admit that I very glad to get there Wed. night and be able to sleep in my own bed and be in my own environment.  We stayed there until today (Sat.) when we left and are stopped in Flagstaff tonight.  While we were in NM we got our fill of New Mexican food and took our friends on a balloon ride (a first for three of them) and a trolley ride around ABQ to see the sights.  The weather cooperated with us - very still in the AM for the ride, mild temps and sunshine.  Any rain that was predicted went around us and hit other parts of the area.  Today as we rode we were about 30 outside of Flagstaff when we noticed a very, VERY dark sky in front of us.  Knowing that we were going to be heading right into it we stopped at a rest stop and donned our rain gear.  That was a good thing because even though we skirted the large thunderstorm there was still rain coming down.

We are going to take a couple more days to get back to CA because we really don't want to be riding a long time in the heat that we know will catch us to us.  When we get back home on Mon. night we jump in again to get things at the CA house before we take off back to WA.  I know you would  probably never thought you would hear me say this, but I am very tired of traveling at the moment.  I want to put down roots for a while.  Guess that won't happen until we get back up to WA in early August.

Billings, Montana - DONE!

Convention #1 is done and in the history books.  We are now at convention #2 in Grand Junction, Colorado.  For the most part Blue Knight convention have two  purposes - #1 to meet and renew relationships from other regions and #2 to deal with political crap.  There are some days where we do get out and rides our motors, but when it's close to 100 degrees you really don't want to leave the cool hotel.

During our stay in Montana we did take a ride up to - nope - down to Cody, Wyoming.  Wanted to take a ride that we hadn't done before and since I had never seen Cody, off we went.  We went through some very  picturesque country and came upon a town that just tickled Karl to no end.  As we were pulling into a town called Belfry Karl wanted to know if Belfry had any bats.  Just then we passed the school where it stated on their marquee "Belfry School - Home of the Bats".  And here in front of the school was a VERY large flying bat hanging over the school entrance.  I have a picture, but I didn't bring my camera cord to transfer pictures so you will just have to imagine.  Anyways, in Cody we went to the Buffalo Bill Museum which is actually 5 museums in 1.  It is a great place to see things about Buffalo Bill, Western Art, Western heritage and all things cowboy.

In Billings there was just Karl, myself and two other Blue Knight friends who rode.  But here in Grand Junction we were joined by about 11 other Blue Knights.  As an added note, there is a rumor going around that Mike Martin is planning on a ride to go to the 2011 International Convention in Hampton Roads, Virginia.  Karl at first said that we weren't going, but he has been overruled (by me) because I have a brother and sister-in-law that live in VA that I would love to see.  So we are going, probably with Mike's group.  And if you have never been on a Mike Martin ride you don't know what you are missing.  Just anyone who has ever ridden with him.

We will be in Grand Junction until Wed. morning then we are riding to our house in NM with 4 other people and staying there for a few days before riding back to CA.  Hopefully the temps will be kinder and cool down a little for us.

Freeway Cat, Refrigerated Crab and United Airlines

Title sounds intriguing, huh?

For those who have followed this travel log they will notice a common occurrence when we get ready to start a trip.  For those who haven't followed until recently, take a quick tour of previous blogs and you will see what I mean.

After our great 4th of July holiday up at Donner Lake we returned home (California) on the 5th and were there until the 10th.  At that time Karl flew back up to WA to attend his 49th high school reunion and I flew out to NY because my mom "requested" a command appearance from my sister and I.  So off we both went, but before I left I was smart and started to put together my clothes that I would need for our motorcycle trip that was starting on the 16th.  I was to return home on the 14th which gave me only a day to finish packing and get ready for our next adventure.  Karl got to WA, I got to NY and not problems occurred.  Now is when the trip monster reared it's ugly head.  Remember that whenever we get ready to travel, no matter what mode of travel, something ALWAYS happens.  This time it happened to me only.  My niece, her daughter and I were all leaving  NY within an hour of each other - her and baby back to GA and me back to CA.  So I get to my gate, sit down and pull out my computer.  I had an hour to wait so I was going to play awhile.  After about 15 minutes I hear a PA announcement but didn't pay much mind until I heard it repeated about my flight that was supposed to arrive within 45 minutes.  They announced that the plane (which was coming from Chicago) was still stuck there because of mechanical problems and wouldn't arrive until 8:30pm.  What??!!  But I was to catch my connecting flight in Chicago at 8:05pm!  Well, that wasn't going to work.  So up to the counter I go and stand in line.  When I get to the agent I am told that all flights to the West Coast will have ended by the time I get there and I would have to spend the night in Chicago!  What could I do?  So I take the new flight - arrive in Chicago at 10pm, grab a hotel shuttle and go to the hotel that they gave me a voucher for.  BUT the next morning my flight will leave at 6AM!!!!  So I get to the hotel around 10:40, take a quick shower, set my alarm and crawl into bed around 11:15pm.  4am arrives really early.  I get down to the lobby at 4:30 to catch the 4:40 shuttle back to the airport and leave at 6am.  I finally arrive in CA at 11am and I still have to finish packing for our motorcycle trip which is now leaving the next day.  By 9pm I am have asleep on the couch.  Goodnight, Karl, I am off to bed.  Never did hear him come in.  Now the alarm goes off at 6am so we can be up and gone by 7:30am to meet a couple of other Blue Knights who will join us on our trip to Billings, MT.

Since we have left no problems have occurred except the heat in the desert.  We made Elko, NV. last night and were riding in about 100-103 degrees heat - BLAH!  Today wasn't as bad and we have arrived in Idaho Falls, ID for the night.  We will make Billings tomorrow late afternoon.  There we will sit until Fri morning.  I will update the blog as things progress. 

I guess I need to get used to the idea that whenever we leave to travel something will always happen to upset plans we have made and have a backup.  Or just smile, laugh and go with the flow! 

Our walking wounded

I need to start this blog out on a serious note for a change.

I was in the Denver airport waiting for my connection back to Sacramento when a wounded vet sat beside me in the waiting area.  He was only about 23-24 and was walking with two arm crutches.  I was on the one side of him when he started talking to a gentleman on his other side.  I didn't get all of the conversation, but what I did hear was that he was wounded in Iraq from a roadside bomb and had lose the feeling in his left leg.  He was supposed to have another operation and "hopefully" he would get the feeling back.  As he sat there talking the gate agent came up to him and handed him a boarding pass and told him that an anonymous passenger had surrendered his first class seat and took the vet's economy seat instead.  The young vet was very moved and didn't really know what to say.  When it got time to board the airline they invited the first class section to board from the red carpet.  Let me back up a bit.  On United they seat you by sections - first class, elite, 1k, etc is boarded first - then seating section 1 which is economy plus, then seating section 2, etc. up to section 4.  As most people do they will huddle around the gate area and wait for their section to be called.  As I was waiting for my section to be called I noticed that the young vet, who could board first, hung back because there were about 4 people standing in front of the boarding area and he really couldn't get through easily.  Seeing that and being the timid and shy person that I am, I walked up to them, excused myself and pushed them aside (gently of course).  Then I turned to the young vet and motioned him forward.  At first he didn't want to go ahead, but I said, "You are first class, you deserve to go."  He looked at me and thanked me, then slowly boarded.  It was about 5 minutes later when my section was called and I boarded the plane.  As I entered the plane I saw this young man sitting in the first seat in first class and catching his eye I smiled at him.  As I passed his seat, he grabbed my arm and asked, "Ma'am, are you the one who changed seats with me?"  Smiling I replied, "No, sir, I am not.  But I am a vet too and I appreciate you."  Grabbing my hand in a tight grip he looked at me very humbly and said, "Thank you, Ma'am.  And I appreciate you too."

Usually a random act of kindness doesn't affect me very much.  But this one put a lump in my throat and brought tears to my eyes.  I sat back in my seat and had a tightness in my chest for most of the flight.  Arriving in Sacramento I deplaned quite a while after him, but as I got to the baggage claim I saw him slowly going through the door surrounded by his family.  And as Karl drove past him I said, "There goes one of our walking wounded."

May God keep our young men and women safe from harm and bring them all home safe and sound.  And if you ever get a chance to do a random act of kindness, I hope you remember this one humble veteran on his way home.

Humid New York

How did I do it for 18 years?  How did I live in a humid climate?  Why didn't I melt?  I am up in upstate New York for a few days with my mom, sister, niece and her daughter and having a great time.  But this humidity is killing me!  I took a 45 minute walk and came back covered with a sheen of sweat.  Of course some people will say that women glisten.  HA!  Here you just sweat - no nice words about it.  Now I remember why I never wanted to move back to the East Coast.

Well, onward and upward.  Before we left the farm up in WA we put it up for sale (with Karl's aunt's permission of course) and we really, really expected to be in a 2 year waiting period.  Would have time to clean out the barn, house and finish cleaning the basement, etc.  Surprise!  It was sold in 3 weeks.  What? What happened to the 2 year period?  Now what do we do?  It is a 45 day escrow starting on July 10th and we are gone from the farm until the first part of August.  That means we have to be gone from the farm on August 25th.  It's going to be a BUSY few weeks.  Anybody wanna come and help?

When I finally leave here on the 14th I have one day to get ready for our motorcycle trip to Montana and Colorado.  After our last MC trip we are packing for all kinds of weather.  Watch for a blog update in a few days.  Oh wait, I let you know when a new one is posted.

Past and Present

Day one of our four day garage sale was underway today.  All went well and we actually sold things that I, seriously, didn't think would sell.  No accounting for people's taste.  But at least we can see the end of the road on Karl's aunt's house.  It's been a long time coming - almost two years, in fact.  The hard parts done - the sorting and tagging - and the rest is downhill from here.  We will do day two tomorrow and then again a weekend in August when we get back to WA.  After that things go to Goodwill or the (gasp!) dump.  Just a word of advice to children of parents that are getting up in years - start cleaning out their houses NOW!  You will thank yourselves later, trust me!  You would be surprised what parents will keep and not remember.  Anyway, that is the present.

As for the past - we were having lunch the other day with a friend of Karl's and we started to tell her of the horrible start of 2010 when I realized that I never really told my blog readers what was going on - starting in September of last year.  So I will entertain you of our wonderful times starting in 2009.

Most of my travel blog readers are also my Sadie blog readers so I won't really go into a lot of the details of the saga of Sadie which happened in mid January.  I will go back to the month of September 2009 as a preface to the "fun" we had at the beginning of 2010.

So in comes September 2009 and we are traveling from Colorado to NM where we were going to be for the months of Sep and Oct because we were having two couples coming over the beginning of Oct for the balloon fiesta.  I had been having stomach pains on and off for about 25 years , but never could find the source of it.  So I would just live with it.  Well as we were travelling to NM my pains were so bad one morning that I couldn't even get out of bed.  If you've ever ridden in a diesel motor home you know you really don't want to be in the back where the bedroom is while on the road because it is very noisy.  I was so sick at the time that I didn't care.  Finally after a few hours it stopped hurting and I could at least come up front with Karl, but was too weak to drive.  Get to NM and I am fine for a while.  I work through the small pain and get on with my life.  The first part of Oct our friends show up and I had planned a great week for them with plenty of things to do in and around Albuquerque including the balloon fiesta.  I ended up making 2/3 of them.  On top of the stomach pains I kept having nose bleeds.  I was having such "fun".  To give you the Reader's Digest version of this story, by the middle of December I was in the hospital getting a foot of my colon removed.  I was released on Christmas Eve and the doctor had the nerve to tell me that I couldn't travel for a while.  What?  NO WAY!  I had a grandbaby being born (at that time) the 12th of January and I HAD to get to Phoenix!  So he gave me permission to leave on the 10th of January with the strict instructions to Karl that he had to stop every 1-1 1/2 hours so that I could get out and walk for 5-10 minutes to stop the threat of blood clots.  No problem.  Got to Phoenix on the 13th and was there for Sadie's birth on the 19th.

Now the problem with our delay in leaving CA was that in the summer of 2009 while up at the farm in WA we did some great crabbing.  Got a lot of fresh Dungeness crabs and had some in the RV freezer for good eating.  We moved the RV over to NM to Phoenix in November because Karl's son-in-law was graduating from U of Phoenix and a baby shower was being thrown for Sadie.  We left the beginning of Nov with the RV staying at our RV lot in Phoenix plugged in and safe.  Or so we thought.  For those who don't know RV's, a short lesson on power.  An RV will run on either 12V power (a generator) or what we call shore power (plugged into an electrical outlet).  Everything in the RV will run off of either - EXCEPT the refrigerator.  That needs both 12V AND shore power.  And what happens when one doesn't work?  It drains all six of the house batteries and both of the engine batteries.  And what happens when the batteries die?  Everything SHUTS OFF!  Including the refrigerator.  And what happens when the refrigerator shuts off?  Everything DEFROSTS.  Have you ever smelled crab that has defrosted and sat in it's own crab juice in a warm freezer in a warm RV in a warm climate?  It ain't pretty, believe me. 

We arrived back at our RV in mid January and the freezer was out since, probably - we're not sure , since the end of November.  Karl opened the freezer door and dropped to his knees because of the smell.  It permeated the whole coach.  I tried everything anybody recommended on how to get rid of dead fish smell to a little bit of success.  It didn't get rid of it, but it made it tolerable to open the door for a few seconds without knocking you out.  The other problem was that our ice maker was in the same compartment.  If we left the ice in there it would pick up the odor and we would end up throwing it out.  Having a drink that smells like crab is not great.  We thought we could handle it, but then we got to thinking that we are traveling across Canada this summer and couldn't see living with the smell.  Plus if the freezer ever got warm again that smell would increase again.  So we decided to take it to the RV repair shop and get a new refrigerator.  We call that our $4600 accident.  On top of that, when we got to AZ in November and I tried to level the coach with the electric jacks, one of the jacks malfunctioned and wouldn't extend.  We call that our $1000 accident.  Then in the morning we started the engine to increase the air pressure in the air bags so that the coach wouldn't move so much since the jacks weren't down to stabilize it and the air bags wouldn't inflate.  Come to find out a rock was thrown up under the coach and punctured a hole in the air line.  We call that our $300 accident.  The total bill for all this?  $6400.  Oh well, that is the price you pay for having a home on wheels, I guess.

For those of you who have read my blog last year about the freeway cat, I hope you got as much  enjoyment out of this blog this year as well.  Notice that something major starts our travel year each time?  Makes me kinda wonder.

What do Scotsmen and Washingtonites have in common?

Some people like to toss phone poles -

Some people like to climb phone poles -

Either way, both like to play with wood! 

Since we've been in WA we have done nothing but the aunt's business - i.e. banking, garage sale, sale of farm, yard work, etc.  Saturday came and it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day.  Real sun and warm weather for a change.  So we decided to take a "fun" day and go to Deming and see the log show that they hold every year.  Basically it is a time for the loggers of the area (and some out of area) to come and compete in different  aspects of the logging industry.   Some of the competitions were axe throwing, pole climbing, log rolling (in water of course), iron man relay, stump chopping, two man saw and one man saw.  Then the most anticipated event was chainsaws that were attached to car engines!  It takes four men to move the thing!  Two men hold the saw and it takes about 1.2 seconds to cut through a medium size log.  Talk about testosterone!  I ended up with a sunburn (yeah) but had a great time being in the sunshine and watching men and WOMEN doing their thing with wood.

Now it is Monday and it is back to work.  Thank goodness the sun is shining and according to the weatherman it is supposed to stay nice and dry with sun and some clouds for the rest of the week.  We need to start sorting things for the garage sale this weekend.  Do you realize how much "stuff" will accumulate in a farmhouse occupied by a depression era baby that had lived there for over 40 years?  You don't really want to know.  Let's just say that it will take us about three complete days sorting, throwing out and marking for the sale.  I did put the large appliances on Craig's List to try and get rid of them before the sale and we did sell two of the four.  Now it's just small trinkets, dishes and other odds and ends.  It's going to be a looonnnggg week.  BUT the good thing is once this is done and the farm is sold we can come up here while the aunt is still alive and just enjoy ourselves.  Once she is gone we have decided not to come back here for quite a while.  No offense Pacific northwest people, but I hate it up here.

In about two weeks time we will be flying back to CA to get ready for our motorcycle trips that will take us close to 3000 miles of travel.  We are going to enjoy the 4th holiday up at Donner Lake again this year first.  Then we are home for about a week.  After that I fly to NY (a command performance from my mother) and Karl goes to his high school reunion.  When I return back home I will have only one day to get ready for the MC trip.  Phew!  July is going to fly by.

Northwesterners are WIERD!

I know that the above title will get me in a lot of trouble, BUT my contention is that anyone who loves the rain (constantly) is nuts.  And if you live in the northwest you know that you are going to get rain - A LOT.  The reason I am ranting is that we arrived at the farm on Tues and it's been raining ever since.  Now I don't mind a little rain, but three days worth is a little much.  Of course residents here call it liquid sunshine.  Right.  So do the Hawaiians, but their liquid sunshine lasts maybe an hour and then there really is sunshine after!  Here it just stays gray and then more "liquid sunshine" starts.  Karl's aunt knows I hate the weather up here and she feels really bad that it's so lousy right now.  In fact I won't come up here in spring or autumn because of the weather.  But the weatherman says that it will become sunny tomorrow (I don't know if I trust them anymore).  So off my soggy, wet soapbox for now.

Like I said, we arrived on Tues and parked the MH at the farm until the beginning of September.  During this time our main goal is to try and sell the farm and all the "stuff" that has been accumulating in the house for over 40 years.  We were able to give a lot of things away to family that his aunt wanted to make sure stayed in the family.  But do you know how much stuff is in a 40 year old house that was occupied by a depression-era baby?  Believe me, it is stacked.  When we first started cleaning out (about a year ago) in the kitchen closet I found bags and bags full of bags and bags.  She never threw anything out.  You know the saying, "I may be able to use that sometime."  Needless to say we have been throwing a lot of stuff out.  Now it's down to trying and selling things that are sellable.

His aunt is very happy in her assisted living apartment and has no qualms about selling the farm.  Karl can't wait until it's gone because he's been working on it for about 25+ years and he is tired of it.  So soon we can come up here and just enjoy visiting his aunt instead of working.  That won't break my heart!

Snow in May??

Our traveling season has officially begun! Yesterday we motorcycled to Boise, Idieho and after getting of off the bike at the hotel I felt like a mailman - I made it through rain, sleet and hail and still survived.

We left our CA home around 7am (which, to those of you who know me, is a very early hour for me to be awake) and met a couple of other guys from our chapter to ride part way up with. So at 8am kickstands were up and off we went. It was cold, but wasn't raining. We had put on our heated gear so the temperature didn't bother us. For those of you who don't know where we live in CA, we are near Sacramento and the only way to get to Boise is over the Sierra Nevada mountains, about 80 miles away and about 7,000 feet high. If you 've ever studied western history you may recall an event that involved the Donner party that had to revert to cannibalism to try and survive in the Sierras during the winter of the 1800's as they tried to get to CA. Well we have to travel over what is now called Donner Pass and it is about 7,200 feet above sea level. Now please remember that if you look at the calendar you will see that it is May 28 when we left. That's May - springtime, almost June, almost SUMMER!!! We get up to the mountains and there is about 3-4 FEET of new snow! I have to admit that it was one of the prettiest times I have ever seen the mountains like this. It was a picture postcard sight. Everything was covered in new snow, but come on-it's May already!

Anyway, we make it through the mountains with no problems, just wet roads. As we get to Reno it starts to rain. Not bad - not anything hard where we would need the rain gear - just bothersome. We arrive in Winnemuca,, Nevada where the rain stopped and we stopped - for lunch. After lunch we said good bye to our travel companions and they headed to Elko, Nevada for the night and we continued on. Maybe we should have stayed in Elko too. Almost as soon as we leave Winnemuca the rains started. Luckily (?) we had put on our rain gear before leaving this time - just in case. Well, the rains came and didn't let up. As we passed into Oregon the rains changed to hail - and not small hail either. We wore our heated gear along with the rain gear the whole time and as we were pelted by the hail you could feel it hitting us through all our gear! That went on for almost 30 minutes and then rain again. But along with it came the winds. And what winds! They were coming from our left side and were so strong that the bike was leaning almost at a 30% angle. My neck was so stiff after that I thought for sure I would end up with one of my bloody headaches. But didn't happen, thank God. Now as we entered into Idaho the rain (which is still falling) changed into sleet. That made for a little tense ride as it was staying on the road a little. Finally we made it to our hotel at 6:30 that night and were very glad to get here. Now we can rest and enjoy our time here with other Blue Knights.

Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend. But please take a moment sometime this weekend to stop and think about the veterans that made this weekend possible. God bless us all.

On the road AGAIN!

Well I guess it's time for me to fire up this blog again so people won't get confused as to where we are at any one time because it is time to hit the road for our travels starting this Thursday and not stopping until early November (really, I'm not kidding!).

To begin I will give you all a Reader's Digest version of where we are going to. Ready? Here we go: Idaho, California, Washington, California, Washington (Karl), New York (Me), California (both of us), Washington, all of Canada, New England, New York, Virginia, Georgia, Tenneese, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, California. WHEW!!!! From the time we left with the motorhome from Arizona until we get it back to AZ we will have traveled over 12,000 (in the motorhome alone). That is not counting the times we will be flying back and forth to CA. As we travel more details will follow.

Right now our first stop is up to Boise, Idaho for the Memorial day weekend. We take the motorcycle and scoot up there on Thursday (only an 8 hour trip) and meet with a bunch of other Blue Knights for an informal get-together. Then scoot back home on Sunday. From the reports of weather (from our "trusted" weatherpeople) we will definitely be getting wet and cold on Thursday, but will have a beautiful day back on Sunday. I know some of you are shaking your heads about us riding in the rain and cold, but when you have heated gear and rain gear it's not a problem other than watching out for the stupid car drivers! Just a word of advice for those of you who drive four wheels - please double check for motorcyclists when you are driving. It could be my life you are saving. So far we have ridden in ever kind of weather you can think of: rain - yes, snow - yes, sleet - yes, hail - yes (and that hurts!), winds - yes (hate that), heat - yes, hurricanes - yes, tornadoes - yes, and even sunshine!

On another note, I have been tracing my family roots lately and boy what I have found is amazing. I don't want to tell you here because my sister will read this and I don't want her to know until I see her in July and then tell her, my mom and my neice together. But they will be surprised! If you would like to know shoot me a email or ask me when you see me next. But ii has been like a treasure hunt - the more I dig the more I find.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this blog and will follow us on our countrywide journey this year!

On the road AGAIN

We thought we were going to be real smart this time. We were going to get everything packed and put away the night before we left WA on the 5th. So we proceeded to pack up all the stuff we had strewn around, cinch down the motorcycle in the trailer, turn the motorhome around and hook the trailer up so that we could leave real early the next morning. Everything went great until we tried to put in the door shade. You would think that by now we would know that SOMETHING would go wrong to mess up our plans. Well this almost was it. After looking at the directions of the shade they wanted us to take off a cover that we couldn't get to because of an outside light. Next best thing? Manually, by brute force, push the shade frame back to the side of the coach and wrap, bungy, and tape it up. Then stuffing the canvas behind the frame as best we could knowing that we were probably going to hit wind at some point. Finally at 7:30pm we got everything back together and still had to go into town to say goodbye to Karl's aunt. We got back to the coach around 10pm, fell into bed and waited for the morning to come (way too soon).


On the 5th we were on the road at 8:30am heading to Boise, ID. After driving for 11 hours we decided we were not going to make Boise to meet a friend and ended up in a Wal-Mart parking lot (God bless Wal-Mart). Wasn't too bad except for a local resident thought that it would be real funny to go around the parking lot at 3:30am blowing the horn and the animal control truck (with at least 2 dogs inside, barking) sitting at the gas station for about 30 minutes at 7am. Needless to say didn't get much sleep that night.


Took off around 9am and drove to Ogden, UT to meet up with an Ogden City Policeman who wants to start a new Blue Knight chapter in Ogden and wanted to talk to Karl. After we got through with him it was 4pm and we decided to drive up to the Park City RV Resort to spend the night there and meet our friends Robin and Bill who live in Park City. Would have loved to spend a little time with them and visit the town, but we had to move on.

After driving to Farmington and spending the night in the Elks Club parking lot (yes, they do have hook-ups for RV's) we finally arrived back at our house in Rio Rancho on the 8th where we will be for two months. Well, I will because Karl leaves on Saturday to drive the motorcycle and trailer back to California and fix the pool there that is leaking. He will then fly back to NM on Friday and we will begin to get ready for our company that is coming in for the balloon fiesta in Oct.

Orcas Island, Washington

Oh joy!!! The joys of eating FRESH crab straight out of the ocean, thrown in the pot and devoured all within 3 hours! We went to a friend's house over on Orcas Island, which is part of the San Juan Islands, and helped bring up the crab pots. Well, Karl and Larry did. Vickie and I watched from the comfort of the porch. Going over there is a unique trip for sure. We had to leave Ferndale at 8:30am and drive to Anacortes to catch the ferry at 10am. It's a 90 minute trip with stops at two other islands and we arrived around 11:30am. Meeting our friends at a restaurant we enjoyed a great lunch then off to their cabin to enjoy a warm and relaxing day. Karl and Larry changed clothes and off they went to boat out to the traps. They only pulled up two traps, but they did end up catching 18 nice crabs. There is nothing like fresh crab meat! We had a great dinner then changing clothes back on the bike at 6:15pm to drive the 30 minutes to catch the 7:00pm ferry back to Anacortes. We get there around 6:50 only to be informed that the ferry is running about 45 minutes late! It wasn't too bad waiting because one of the islands finest stopped and since he noticed that we were part of the Blue Knights talked with us for most of the time. Finally the ferry arrived one hour late and we were boarded, on our way to Anacortes. Unfortunately since it was late we didn't get back to the farm until 10pm. That made for a long day, but it was worth it when we were able to bring back 14 crabs for freezing. We will be eating crab well into the winter. Woo-hoo!!!

We are starting to wrap up the work at the farm and getting ready to leave for New Mexico on the 5th. It will take us about 2.5 days to drive and then we will be planted for the next two months. In November we will be moving the motorhome down to Phoenix so that we can be at Karl's son-in-law's graduation from the University of Phoenix and I can attend Christie's baby shower. After than we will leave the motorhome there and drive my car to California for the last two months of the year.

Karl's Aunt Myrne has decided to finally sell the farm (Thank you Lord) so we are slowly clearing out the house with things that she wants family members to have. To some people that sounds really odd, but if you think about it it is a great way for his aunt to give things to whom she wants while she's alive and no one can argue what belongs to them when she's gone. A great way to stop any fights that could erupt upon a person's death. The farm will probably go up for sale in November when Karl comes back for a few days. Hopefully it will sell quick, but not too quick, because there is still a whole lot of junk that has to be taken care of.

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Our next adventure took us to Calgary in Canada. We met our motorcycle group from Sacramento in Yakima, WA and started on the road to the Blue Knights West Coast Conference that was being held in Canada. Since we were already in WA we decided to ride the 4.5 hours to Yakima on the 11th and spend the night at Karl's former Lt. from Topponish, WA (where Karl was Chief of Police) and who is now the deputy chief of Yakima. On the 12th we met up with our group at lunch and started on our trip.

Mike Martin is a fantastic ride leader/coordinator and he put together a great ride up to Calgary. Never in a straight line from point A to point B because we love to meander. He always finds great places to ride to, through, by, near, etc. This time we were able to ride through Jasper National Park and Banff National Park both of which are in Alberta, Canada.

As we entered Jasper Park we were greeted by Mt. Robson. What a great backdrop for a picture of our motorcycles on the road. We tried to find wildlife whenever we were in a park, but didn't have a great deal of luck. EXCEPT when we were driving along and spotted a young male elk grazing along the roadside in Jasper. We stopped the bikes and were able to snap pictures of him. Then he decided that the grass was better on the other side and slowly walked right behind our bike! At first I thought he was going to come a lot closer to us, but he changed directions at the last minute.

When we arrived in the town of Jasper for lunch we discovered that they were having a rodeo that weekend and the RCMP were escorting the rodeo queen through town on horseback. I love a man in uniform!!! The town was very crowded, but it was fun looking at the shops and having a great lunch at a Greek/American restaurant.

Our next adventure was going through Banff National Park. What an awesome place. If you ever get up there you will see scenes that will blow your mind! It seems that every bend in the road provided us with another fantastic photo opportunity. Glacier capped mountains, gorgeous mountain streams, turquoise waters, waterfalls at the edge of the road, etc. Unfortunately no wildlife was spotted by our group. We stayed in the town of Banff and had a great soup and salad dinner at the edge of town.

We arrived in Calgary on the 16th for the beginning of our conference and stayed right downtown. Not a real great place for a motorcycle conference, but we worked it out. It was a great time to see those that we haven't seen in a year and meet new members. Calgary will be another place we go back to see things that we didn't have time for this trip. During the conference the host chapter always puts on trips around the area for us to ride to. This time we rode about 90 miles to the town of Drumheller where they have a great dinosaur museum. The town really plays this up because they have found a lot of fossils in the area and have them on display. The museum was a great place and we got to see some pretty complete fossils. If you take a good look at this picture you can see why I couldn't pass up snapping it!!!! Mmmmm--tastes like chicken!

We are now back at the farm until the 5th of September when we will leave for New Mexico and stay rooted until the first part of November.

Louisville, Kentucky - Part 3

Ok gentlemen, here it is! Our last day to tour we were up early and took a 120 mile trip to Bowling Green to view the National Corvette Museum. What a treat. You may want to take a look at the pictures in the photo album because I will be referring to them alot since those are the only notes I took! I was having too much fun looking and snapping pictures to write any thing down. The factory is right across the street, but we didn't take a tour there.

Anyway, when you first walk into the museum you are greeted by the "Nursery" as seen in pictures 3, 4 and 22. The Nursery is where your car is delivered from the factory to await your arrival. When you order your car you can ask for the R8C option. That entitles you to have your car waiting for you at the nursery along with a VIP tour of the factory, museum and hands on delivery from the staff. There were six "babies" waiting and while we were looking at them all a new delivery was pulled in and parked.

When we went into the museum itself there was a picture of the first Corvette symbol on display, picture 12 (sorry that it's so blurry). But you will notice the difference between that one and the others that I have pictured. The reason for the difference is when Chevy was going to put on the symbol with the US flag (just hours from releasing the first model) they found out that you couldn't display the flag on a commercial product. So they frantically changed the symbol to show the Fleur-de-Lis and quickly put that on. You can see how the symbol has changed over the years.

They had the first car produced (1953) in the museum. At that time, if you ordered the car you could have any color you wanted (as long as it was white) and the interior was also your choice (as long as it was red). It really showed a person's individuality.

We walked through the building and came to the rotunda part that had a model for almost every year made. There was one very interesting car (pictures 17-19) with quite a unique story. During 1983 the factory was planning to move so they only made 43 cars with the year of 1983. the rest were considered 1984's even though they were still made in 1983. Of the original 43 1983's this one is the only one left! So it was a unique thing to see. There was also a special painted car in honor of the POW-MIA's of 4th Allied POW Wing.

Over all it was a great tour and well worth the trip down the road. I wish we had more time to spend in Louiville because we would have loved to have visited the American Printing House for The Blind, General Patton's Musuem, Lexington and so many other places. I guess we will have to go back.

Right now, as I write this we are on the motorcycle traveling up to Calgary, Canada for a Blue Knight West Coast Conference. It seems like, right now, our lives and travels are circled around Blue Knight conferences and conventions. At least it does give us the opportunity to see places that we probably would have passed by (like Louisville). Until next blog have a great day and stay posted!

Louisville, Kentucky - Part 2

First of all, to Tom, Judy and Geri, thank you for your kind comments. It's great to know that I have put a smile on your face.


The next morning we woke up to a very, very soggy day. It started raining the night before and continued through the rest of the day. There's nothing sadder than seeing motors sitting out in the rain and no one using them (boo-hoo, sob, sob). Okay, enough of that. We had four wheels and we didn't care what the weather was. So off we go to our next sight-seeing destination - the Louisville Slugger Museum and the Frazier International History Museum. I was really excited to visit the Louisville Slugger Museum because it also included a tour of the factory and I could see how this famous bat was made. Unfortunately picture taking was not allowed in the factory so I will try to remember everything that we saw.


First some interesting facts about the bats made. The trees that are used for bat making need to be older than 80 years old. During just one baseball season there are over 40,000 trees that will be used. In fact, there is a forest that the factory owns that they grow their own trees. Now each tree will yield about 60 bats - that's including bats for professional players and everyone else. When they used to make bats by hand it would take about 20 minutes to carve one using a hand plane and a caliper - measuring the new bat to the old one to get it just right. Now with machinery and a standard template it takes about 30 seconds. Annually, the factory will make about 1.8 million bats. During our tour we saw bats being make for Alex Rodriguez. They told us that each professional player has such specific details on their bats that they can tell just by swinging it if it's make right or not. As we entered the factory you realize just how small the factory is! It's about the size of an average warehouse. Once the bats are carved then they go to the sealing department where they are dipped, by hand, in a special lacquer sealing and hung to dry. After they are dried they get painted (if someone wants a special color, there are nine in all) or they can stay natural colored. The last step is deciding what type of label to put on the bat. You have a choice of burning, embossed or sticker. My son is getting his own personalized bat made for him. Enjoy, Brian.


In the museum you can see bats from Babe Ruth (see picture), Hank Aaron and some older guys (sorry, I couldn't remember their names). Also in the museum they have a display that has you standing behind the catcher as if you are the umpire (but behind a Plexiglas shield) and a pitching machine pitches a ball at you with the speed of a pro player. I don't see how the umps do it! Even though I was behind a shield I dodged every time it was thrown at me. Those things could hurt you real bad!!!!!


Our next stop was a few doors down the street and that was the Frazier International History Museum. Sounds great huh? Well, according to the description in the visitor's guide it says, "A world-class museum that takes visitors on an unforgettable journey through 1,000 years of history; with interactive displays, multi-media presentations & costumed interpreters." Boy, that sounds great! Now, Karl said he doesn't read my blogs because he trusts me in giving you the information of what we saw (sure that is a good idea, Karl?). Well, this museum was great for the men, "Wow, look at that! What a neat thing!), but really boring for the women, "Okay, I've seen a couple dozen of the same things, can we leave now?" The museum is a collection of weapons from the medieval days to the present. I mean you can only see guns, knives and swords for so long then they all look the same. Sorry, guys, but for me I could have been in and out in less than a hour. BUT Karl was really getting into this stuff so we ended up staying about 3 hours (ho-hum). I do have to say they do have a rather unique agreement with the Royal Armory of Britain in that they exchange between each other. So we saw a lot of British stuff and I imagine that they have a lot of American stuff over in London. The one thing that was great (for me anyway) was that the museum had the armour of King Henry VIII (when he was young and lean). And it was very interesting to see how they made chain-mail armour - tedious work.


Don't' forget to take a look the the photos on the link to the left of the page.


Next time I think the guys will really enjoy my blog. We went to the National Corvette Museum.